In today's time, if all the big stars of Bollywood gather together under one roof, then it is discussed everywhere, the matter remains in the headlines for many days. One such incident happened in the year 1994 when the entire fraternity of Hindi cinema gathered outside Thane Jail in Mumbai. There was only one reason for this – to give emotional support to Sanjay Dutt.
Date- 6 July, 1994. Place- Thane Central Jail of Maharashtra. A Bollywood actor is locked behind the prison walls. There is a crowd of people from Bollywood outside the jail. From Dilip Kumar to Shahrukh, Salman, Akshay and Saif Ali Khan, all the big and small actors working in Hindi cinema are gathered. They have posters in their hands. It is written on it- “Sanju we are with you” . means 'we are with you Sanju'. This line is on the tongue of many famous actors- “He is not a traitor” ,
Yes, the Sanju we are talking about is Sanjay Dutt. And the above mentioned incident happened when Sanjay Dutt had to go to jail for keeping illegal weapons in his house in the 1993 Mumbai Bomb Blast case. Despite the case being serious, even though Sanjay was accused of treason, the entire Bollywood was present outside the Thane jail to give him emotional support.
How did the film industry unite?
Today, i.e. 29th July is Sanju's birthday. He has turned 65 years old. Till now he has worked in more than 180 films. However, his Bollywood friends have also played a role in the position he has reached today. Those friends who stood by him in his bad times. Today, on the occasion of his birthday, let's talk about how the whole industry came together.
The story begins on 12 March 1993, that day was Friday. The bomb blast in Mumbai shook the whole country. 257 people died. About 1000 people were injured. 7 days after the blast, i.e. on 19 July, Sanjay Dutt's name comes up in this case. The police arrest him on charges of keeping illegal weapons in his house given by Abu Salem, one of the gangsters responsible for the Mumbai bomb blasts. During interrogation, he tells that he kept the weapons for the safety of his family. After staying in jail for several days, he is released on bail on 5 May.
Meetings are held, posters are printed
A full year later, on 4 May 1994, his bail is cancelled. He is arrested again and sent to judicial custody. A case is registered against him under the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA). The news of Sanju going to jail spreads throughout the film industry. All the artists stop their work there. The artists who were out of town immediately return to Mumbai. All the artists gather under one roof. A meeting is held. Thousands of posters with the words 'Sanju hum tumhare saath hain' are printed. Then on 6 May, all the stars gather outside the Thane jail. It is said that this was the only big scene when a large number of Bollywood stars gathered together.
What did Bollywood stars say?
Shahrukh, who started his film career a few years ago, is also present there. He says about Sanju on camera- “I just hope he is okay inside. He is a very nice person.” Asha Parekh says, “He is not a traitor. He is the son of a very good man.” Amrish Puri says- “We are positive minded people, we are a little confident, with our prayers things will move in the right direction, everything will be fine.” The crowd included many big names including Raza Murad, Randhir Kapoor, Yash Chopra, Dilip Kumar, Anupam Kher. Salman, Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, Ajay Devgan, Akshay Kumar were supporting Sanjay Dutt with posters in their hands.
However, on 16 October 1995, Sanjay came out on bail again. In December of the same year, he had to go behind the bars again. The hearing of his case is still going on. In 2006, he was freed from TADA Act, but was found guilty under Arms Act and sentenced to 6 years. However, the sentence was later reduced to five years.